


Shared Solitude

by landahoymateys



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-02
Updated: 2013-03-02
Packaged: 2017-12-04 02:26:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/705457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/landahoymateys/pseuds/landahoymateys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the 1st class meme<br/>Prompt was;<br/>alex is the new guy next door, and hank only sees glimpses of his hair, laundry, mails, anything but his face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shared Solitude

**Author's Note:**

> For more of my x-men fics, visit my lj; landahoymateys.livejournal.com

Hank remembered when he had moved in. There were sounds of boxes being brought in and deposited on the ground. The walls were paper thin and Hank could hear everything of his neighbor of 4b, he sometimes suspected it was the reason the old neighbors moved out. Hank had been dozing about in bed when he heard the boxes, he quickly jumped up to pull on some pants, all intentions of peeking out his door to see who the new neighbor was. However by the time Hank had pulled on some pants and shoes and sneaked his head out the door he saw the door of 4b closing firmly behind a last box and the lock clicking closed. Hank sighed and collapsed onto the couch that leaned up against the wall they shared. In the room beside his he heard a figure slump against the wall on the other side, a deep sigh slipping a set of lips. Hank grinned at the thought, they were so close, and yet worlds apart.

After that Hank would continue to keep missing his dear neighbor. In the morning he would run to the elevator just as it slammed shut with a ding, the sliver of a familiar back disappearing into it. He would hear the resident of 4b leave every morning minutes before him. Hank tried to set his alarm for 15 minutes earlier, but he'd always sleep in. When Hank would go to retrieve his mail, the other's mailbox would have been just vacated. He would see the traces of a blond head behind a car window pulling out of their shared garage from his little apartment window. It was too fogged to see anything more than tuffs of blond. He saw enough of the resident to know he was a male, a few inches shorter than Hank, blond, and he had the most perfect back Hank had ever seen.

Hank's obsession with the neighbor became more and more serious after that. The boy would always get home at 6pm, Hank didn't even bother to try and time their entrances at the same time anymore… He would sit down to a dinner in front of the t.v. at 8, Hank would do the same. His life seemed so lonely, but than Hank remembered his was worse because his only friend was a man he never saw, and the resident of 4b had just moved here. Sometimes Hank would eat his meal in silence to listen to the other's t.v. set, he watched cop shows and network dramas. Hank would listen to him laugh and smile to himself. He would listen to him sing along to the theme songs, he had a lovely voice. Sometimes Hank would listen to his phone conversations. There was one person that he talked to every night very animatedly, it was usually excitement to hear their voice, or sorrow that they weren't around, or passion Hank suspected, but he didn't recognize that emotion. Hank sometimes pretended the conversations were directed at him and would answer his questions quietly to himself, match his excitement with his own excitement. Hank would go to bed the same time as the resident of 4b, he would always wait up for him, grading papers or rereading his thesis over and over. On nights he was working really hard and the neighbor went to bed early he would pull himself from his work to take a lie down. He would lay on his pillow very quietly, listening to the sounds of rustling and turning and yawning. Sometimes the neighbor snored quietly. 

One day Hank got an envelope with the wrong address on it. He turned it over examining every inch of it excitedly, the name read _Alex Summers_. Now he had a name for the blond hair, the back, the shorter figured man that wasn't just resident of 4b. He held onto the envelop for awhile, holding it to his chest, sniffing it. He wasn't sure what was in it, the return address was marked Florida, was that boy with the golden hair from the sunshine state? Hank waited at his table patiently for the boy to return, like he did every night. That day the boy returned home late. When he came home he wasn't alone. Hank could hear the animated voice of another person on the other side of that wall, another soul that occupied their lives. He frowned at the thought. He went to bed early and pretended not to hear the noises on the other side of the wall, the passionate grunts, the metal bars shaking as they hit their shared wall, the cries. Hank took a sleeping pill that night. 

The next morning Hank woke late to the sound of a phone ringing. It wasn't his own phone but the recognizable ring of his next door neighbor. He sat in silence as he listened to the recording. It was a female voice, she accused Alex of missing her call last night, and demanded they needed to talk. Hank groaned and rolled over. He slept in that day and missed work. In the laundry room he heard rumors sometimes. Some of the more nosy neighbors spreading lies and false stories, "Oh he is absolutely gorgeous, I hear he's dating a model back home." A giggle, "No no, I heard he's a member of a gang and married to the bosses daughter, he ran out on her." The girls laughed and argued over whose story was more ridiculous. One of them asked to borrow Hank's detergent and he happily obliged. Almost as an after thought she gasped in surprise, "Oh! You live next door to him! Have you ever met Alex's girlfriend?" Hank simply said he'd never even seen the guy. The girl mentioned what a shame that was. 

Hank still had the envelope of Alex's. He sniffed it sometimes. He knew it didn't actually smell like Alex, but it had his name on it and that was close enough. One day the manager came to check up on Hank and see how the property was doing. He smiled at the young scientist turned professor with thick rimmed glasses and bright blue eyes, "Oh Hank, you know you're my favorite tenant. I was just stopping by to make sure everything was functioning alright. You doing well?" he asked as he weaved in and out of rooms, check the toilet, the sinks, and radiators. 

Hank smiled softly back at the man, "Thank you Charles. Everything is just fine. I am just fine." It seemed so weird to talk aloud in his own apartment, he always just sat their in silence on his own. He wondered if his neighbor at 4b could hear them, he wondered if he sat with his ear pressed against the wall listening in, as Hank often did to his phone calls. 

The manager named Charles smiled, "I am glad my friend." He suddenly leaned in real close and in a whisper said, "So my friend, have you met your neighbor at 4b yet?" Hank shook his head in response. Charles looked disappointed, "Oh what a shame. I'll invite you both to drinks sometime. I think you would enjoy one another's company." he said with a mischievous grin. Hank nodded happily, he didn't want to seem so eager, as if to say its all I've ever wanted.

Hank listened up against the wall as he heard Charles go next door to see the resident of 4b. They chatted amiably. Charles asked how he was getting along. This is how Hank learned that Alex was a firefighter, that they shopped at the same grocery store, that the girl that called every night was his sister Raven, that he missed the state of Florida very much. Hank knew the sunshine boy must have come from somewhere bright. Charles left as quickly as he had with Hank, and than the apartment next door was silent. A bang came to the wall, it was the sound of the others head hitting the wall as he slumped into the couch. Hank sat in his own couch quietly. Alex's t.v. flickered to life, Hank's did the same. They lived their lives together in quiet solitude. 

Later that night Charles called, like promised. He invited Hank to drinks that Friday night. Hank politely accepted and hung up.

That Friday night Hank went down to Charles' apartment, there he found Charles, Erik- Charles' close "friend" who also sometimes fixed plumbing, Angel- one of the girls from the laundry room, and Sean- one of the residents that just always seemed to be around. They all greeted Hank amiably, he usually only saw each of these people at board meetings and was surprised to see them so soon. Charles smiled fondly at the younger man, "Oh I am so sorry Hank, but your neighbor at 4b cancelled on us last minute." Hank tried not to look too disappointed. Hank socialized with his fellow residents and had a bit too much to drink at Charles' urging, and made his way back up to his apartment before 11.

Hank could hear Alex pacing in the room next door. Hank went to sit on the couch and press his ear against the wall. He sat in silence for a moment, just listening to the other man's footsteps and breathing. It was a breath that Hank held so dearly, a connection he cherished. He didn't need a face to know love. Hank banged on the wall, a courage that only came to him with a bit too much alcohol in his system. The pacing immediately stopped, and the neighbor made his way over to the couch, falling into place noisily. Hank heard the other's face press up against the wall, most likely ear to ear. He banged on the wall in reply. Hank sat their quietly, smiling, he banged again. The response came almost immediately. He didn't know what they were banging, there was no pattern, no rhythm, just a happy connection. Hank passed out, a result of the drink and overworking. He was fast asleep on his couch when a soft knock came to his door. 

The next morning Hank awoke with a pounding headache, but a slow leap in his heart. He heard the alarm blaring in the room next door. Hank quickly pulled himself up and hurried to get ready, maybe today, maybe today… He was slipping his shoes on and made his way to the door when he stopped dead in his tracks, hand on door knob. He leaned down to pick up a small piece of folded paper slipped under his door. He heard a door slamming next door and hurriedly pulled the door open exasperated. He saw the back of a figure disappear into the elevator. He looked down at the paper in his hand, "Hi. Sorry I missed you." it read.  


End file.
